Ceiling and the like.



A. ZEH.

CEILING AND THE LIKE. APPLICATION FILED 001'. s, 1910.

Patented Dec. 19, 1911.

UNITED. STATES PATENT OFFICE.

noeus'r znn, or MUNICH, GERMANY.

CEILING AND THE LIKE.

Application filed October 6, 1910. Serial No. 585,587.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AUGUST 'ZEH, a citizen of Germany, residing at Munich, Kingdomof Bavaria, German Empire, have invented certain new and. useful Improvements in Ceilings and the Like; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescript-ion of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements .in ceilings and the like, and the'object thereof is to provide a ceiling of such construction that the acoustic properties of any inclosure of which the ceiling forms part will be enhanced, and provision made for deflecting sound waves, emanating from any particular part Ofgth inclosure, to any other desired point or points in such inclosure.

The invention is of especial utility in auditoriums, lecture halls, and-theaters, and to clearly show the application of the invention, I have illustrated the same, in the accompanying drawing, in connection with a theater.

Inv the drawing Figure 1 is a yertical sectional view of a theater having m invention embodied in the ceiling thereo Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of a part of the ceiling; and Fig. 3 is a plan" view of the ceiling. I I

The arrangement and construction of the seats of the theater form no part of my present invention and will only be briefly referred to. As usual the seats are arranged in banks or tiers, 'c,-'d,- e, there being provided the exits f, doorways or openings 9, rooms or compartments h, the several stair= waysk, and t e guard rails t on each floor..

K v Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 19, 1911.

The stage of the theater is designated at 8 and adjacent thereto is the space 0 for the orchestra, this space containing a wooden pit or casing surrounded by a second wooden casing q, a hollow space 3) being left be tween the Wooden casings and the latter being connected by suitable bridges r.

I will now proceed to describein detail the special means employed by me for deflecting the sound waves emanating from the stage and orchestra pit, to any desired parts of the house arid thus increasing its acoustic properties. To :his end the ceiling is formed flat or slightly curved, and is pro-' vided with a plurality of preferably radial channels or grooves m, which begin at a point opposite the stage sextend about two thirds the length of the ceiling, and finally terminate in short inclined planes n. The channels or grooves m are preferably elliptical or semicircular in cross section so that for the purpose set forth, having therein a series 0 substantially semicircular longitu-" dinal grooves each merging into a short inclined plane.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses. AUGUST ZEH.

Witnesses:

A. Vnnnw Corrmt, 

